Mnemosyne
by Alexial
Summary: Hermione returns to Hogwarts after three years of being away...six years since graduation and things have changed in the castle, not all of them for the better. Who will help Hermione out of her depression? Not the person she thought it would be. R & R!!
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and co. There are a number of made up characters, and they belong to me.

Mnemosyne

Chapter One: Return

The halls seemed darker and emptier than she recalled. Of course, it had been a little over three years since she had last stepped foot into what she had once considered her safe haven, six since she had graduated from here.

Hermione Granger shivered, pulling her cloak closer to her body with one hand, the other gripping the small bag filled with all her personal belongings.

Smiling bleakly at the familiar passages and paintings, she swiftly made her way into the middle of the castle, stopping in front of the infamous hunched gargoyle.

Images of the times she, Harry and Ron had stood outside this passageway flashed in her mind before she firmly pushed down all thoughts of the past. Mumbling the password that had been given to her, the gargoyle jumped out of her way, allowing her entrance the Headmaster's office. 

Deep in thought, she slowly made her way up the steps. Suddenly she found herself in front of the wooden door. Taking a deep breath, Hermione knocked twice, before the door swung open.

She walked through the doorway and made her way to Albus Dumbledore's desk. The aged wizard stood up with a slight sigh, and his kindly face smiled down at her.

Looking into his clear blue eyes that still twinkled after everything that had happened, Hermione felt like she would break down into tears. Shaking her head slightly, she steeled herself and said quietly, "Headmaster, it is nice to see you again," while holding out a hand for him to shake.

He quickly took her slightly trembling hand in both of his warm ones and smiled once more. "It is a pleasure to see you again as well, Hermione. But please, dear, it is Albus now. You are no longer a student here, and have not been for some time." He released her hand, gesturing for her to take a seat in one of the comfortable armchairs in front of his desk. He continued, "I am very glad that you have decided to accept the invitation and join us this year. We are very lucky to have you here, Hermione."

"Thank you sir," Hermione answered, in a slightly stiff voice.

"Our previous Transfiguration teacher followed Minerva's course schedule, not preparing his own. If you wish to use Minerva's that is up to you. You can, however, prepare your own syllabus as long as you follow the guidelines for the curriculum," Albus stated, getting right to the point of the meeting.

Hermione nodded, suddenly choked up as her mentor and dear friend was brought into the conversation.

Albus's gaze softened, and his voice was soothing when he said, "I am sure Minerva would be absolutely thrilled to know that you are teaching here as the Transfigurations Professor. She would be equally happy to know you are becoming the Head of Gryffindor House. She would be very proud of you Hermione. Never forget that, or think otherwise."

Hermione looked down at her hands, and nodded once more. Breathing in and then out slowly, she schooled her face into a blank expression, cleared her throat and looked up.

"Thank you Albus. That means a lot to me. Now, if you could please show me to my rooms, I have some unpacking and preparing to do," she said calmly, revealing little emotion.

Albus looked at her searchingly for several seconds before nodding and standing up.

"Alright, then," he said with a smile. "Shall we?" he offered Hermione his arm, and the two made their way out of his office and into the hallway. 

On their way to Hermione's new quarters, which were very close to the Gryffindor Tower, Hermione was silent. Every once in a while, Albus would glance at Hermione, who did not seem to be paying much attention to his friendly rambling. Inwardly sighing and trying to think of ways to pull Hermione out of the depression she had so obviously sunken into, Dumbledore kept up his chatter until they had successfully reached the door to her new rooms.

As they came to a halt, Hermione looked up at the headmaster, who was watching her intently. Smiling down at her, he said softly, "Hermione, it is nice to have you here. I know everything has been tense and things have not been exactly cheerful, but it will get better. I promise."

Patting her arm before she had a chance to reply, he continued, "There is a staff meeting in about two hours in the Great Hall. Formal robes, or any outer robes for that matter, are not required since there are no students here. I will see you then. Please make yourself comfortable, and if you need anything I am sure Dobby would be thrilled to be of service. The current password is 'Godric'. To change this one to one of your own, you need to be inside. All you have to do is say the current password and then the one you want to change it to. It will only work for the owner of the rooms, or myself, so do not worry about someone changing your password. I think that is all. See you tonight, my dear."

With that, he swiftly turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

Hermione stood watching him for a second before sighing and turning towards her door. 

Here goes nothing, she thought somewhat bitterly to herself, opening the door to her new rooms.

Walking into her chambers, a sense of déjà vu swept through Hermione. The image of a sobbing Hermione, four years younger, entering the room and being greeted by Minerva with a huge, motherly hug invaded Hermione's mind.

Hermione shook her head, getting rid of the image as soon as it formed in her mind. Setting her shoulders, she walked fully into the room and looked around.

She was standing in a beautiful sitting room with a couch and two matching armchairs that stood in front of a brick fireplace. The floor was covered with a plush beige carpet that matched the hangings around the two large windows. The walls were a light cream and there were both Muggle and Wizard paintings of landscapes and flowers hanging on the walls. 

After admiring the bright room, Hermione walked towards the door at the far end of the room and into the kitchenette. Putting her bag down on the small wooden table, she continued her exploration of her quarters. The kitchenette had the wooden table that held four matching carved chairs, a small refrigerator, an oven and the equivalent of a Muggle toaster-oven. These walls were a plain white and the floor had pale, pale blue tiling.

The next room was her bedroom. Occupying most of the room was by far the largest four poster bed that Hermione had ever seen. The desk and dressers in the room were made of beautiful dark mahogany and had intricate carvings around the edges. The room was decorated in Gryffindor colors, red and gold. Hermione smiled slightly, remembering Minerva's passion for her house.

Finishing her sweep of the bedroom, Hermione pulled out her wand and summoned her bag from the kitchen. As she placed the bag on the bed and opened it, Hermione thought of the Muggle movie _Mary Poppins. _She had always wanted the nanny's bag that had held everything and anything. She had been quite proud of herself when she had been successful in charming one to match the one Mary Poppins had owned. Smiling again, she reached into the bag and started pulling out her belongings and placing the items around her room. 

An hour later, Hermione pulled the last picture out of her bag. She placed the picture of her, Ron and Harry taken at graduation on the dresser next to her bed. Staring at it for several seconds, Hermione felt the familiar gloom and emptiness start to overwhelm her. 

Dragging her eyes away from the waving picture, she walked into the bathroom to clean up before the staff meeting. She gasped when she entered the extravagant room.

Tiles of silver, cream, lavender, and light pink covered the floor and stretched halfway up the walls. The rest of the walls were papered with a pink and lavender design. A gorgeous vanity made of white marble covered half of one of the immense walls, matching a counter with two gold-plated sinks. A porcelain toilet sat in one corner, hidden slightly by the counter with the sinks. In the corner across from the toilet stood a tiled shower with beautiful glass doors with etchings of two swans. The main part of the bathroom, however, was dominated by considerably larger than normal sized bathtub. Jets could be seen here and there along the sides of the Jacuzzi-like tub. There were eight golden taps, placed evenly along the edges of the tub, each one with different colored jeweled handles. 

Glancing quickly at her watch, Hermione smiled when she saw that there was roughly forty-five minutes before she had to meet with the other professors. Walking over to the tub, she began turning on the faucets in order to fill the tub. Colorful streams of water cascaded out of the eight faucets, accompanied by different aromas. When the tub was filled, Hermione stripped and climbed gracefully into the water. Leaning her head on the edge and letting her body float in the hot water, she relaxed in the bathtub, letting the scents of different fruits and flowers flow over and around her.

With a flick of her wand, gentle music filled the luxurious bathroom and Hermione closed her eyes and let herself completely relax.

* * * *

Thirty-five minutes later, an extremely peaceful Hermione walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. No longer tense and stressed, she dressed quickly in a simple Muggle lilac sundress. It was a very flattering dress, not extremely low-cut, but revealing a great deal of neck and skin. The sleeves were only inches past her shoulders, with a slit on the top of each one, making them flutter whenever she moved. 

Her once bushy tangle of hair was gleaming and soft, completely frizz-free. On impulse, Hermione left it to hang down her back, where it reached her waist. Putting a touch of lip-gloss on, she surveyed her appearance quickly, tucked her wand into a small, well hidden pocket of her dress, and walked out of her room.

On her way to the Great Hall, Hermione's feelings of anxiety and unease began to return. She knew that she had changed greatly in the years since she had seen many of her teachers. She did not know exactly who would still be teaching, or how they would react to these changes in her. 

Finally reaching the entrance of the Great Hall, Hermione's nervousness suddenly increased ten-fold.

Who was still teaching? Who had moved away? Who had taken over the positions of those who had died? Who had died that had been here the last time I was here? Stop it! You're being foolish! she scolded herself. It's just a staff meeting. You know you can do this! You're a teacher now, and in order to meet your colleagues, you need to open the damn door! Go! Stop being such…

Hermione's silent scolding was interrupted by a cough behind her. Whirling around, she stared at the man that stood behind her with an amused expression on his face. Not moving, Hermione observed the man standing before her.

He looked to be around the same age as her, but surprisingly did not have the many worry lines that graced the presence of many people nowadays. He was a couple of inches taller than her, not surprising since Hermione was still rather short. He had a slight, wiry body that belied the muscles evident in his chest and arms. His piercing blue eyes were appraising her as they both stood there not moving. His shoulder length, dark blond hair was so curly and soft looking that it took a good deal of Hermione's self control not to run her fingers through his curls. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your thoughts, miss, but I kind of need to get into there," he said with a charming smile and a slight Scottish accent. 

Hermione started, then moved away, blushing slightly, saying, "Sorry, I zoned out there for a second. Are you teaching here this year?"

He nodded to her and offered her his hand. "Miles Raine, Combat and Offensive Magic Professor, at your service ma'am," he said, still smiling.

Hermione took his hand and replied, "Hermione Granger, Transfigurations Professor and Head of Gryffindor."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he quickly looked her up and down again. Hermione's smile disappeared as she realized that once again, her damned name had caused this reaction. She understood all too well what Harry had been talking about all those times…Harry.

"Shall we?" he asked, waving a hand at the doors before she could continue her thoughts.

She gave him a small smile and nodded. As he opened the doors, he offered her his arm, and together they entered the hall

* * * *

"Severus!…Severus I know that you're in here! Ten minutes, that's all. If you're not there, do not think I won't resort to coming and getting you myself!..._Severus!! Fine…ten minutes and you better be there!"_

Severus Snape laughed silently to himself from the safety of his bedroom as the head of Albus Dumbledore yelled at him from the fireplace of his sitting room. 

Sitting against the headboard of his bed, he carefully started organizing the different Potions' books, articles, and journals that he had been reading through. Glancing in the mirror, he grimaced when he saw his rumpled state, and quickly changed his clothes.

Now donned in expensive black slacks and a nice dark green polo shirt, he placed his wand in his pocket and walked quickly out of his chambers towards the Great Hall. Exactly ten minutes after Albus' head had appeared in his fireplace, Severus threw the doors open with a bang, swept into the hall towards the single round table that stood in the center of the room.

Damn! Fell for that one again! Severus thought to himself as he glanced around the empty room. Did the same thing to you last year and you still fell for it! You'd think you'd learn by know! he scolded himself.

Taking an empty seat that faced the entrance of the hall, Severus allowed himself to slouch comfortably in the chair and gaze at the enchanted ceiling.

Magnificent, he marveled. Glancing around at the large empty table, he wondered to himself, Wonder who's going to be teaching this year…who's coming back for another year and who will take the places of those who left…

Gazing at the ceiling once more, Severus sat lost in his thoughts. As he began to tap his foot, a habit he had developed when sitting in silence for too long, he absently started rubbing his left forearm.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't see or hear anyone enter the Great Hall until the person pulled out a chair, making a scraping noise that echoed throughout the Hall.

Jumping slightly as he was jolted out his thoughts, Severus looked up at the person who had just sat down and groaned to himself.

"Albus," he said with an exaggerated grimace. 

"Good morning, Severus," Albus greeted cheerfully, holding out a pouch of sweets, "Lemon drop?" When Severus shook his head no, Albus continued with a smile, "I see you're here on time, my boy. Glad to see it."

Severus glowered at the headmaster for a couple of seconds before allowing his face to relax into a small smile.

"You would think I would catch on already, wouldn't you?" he asked his mentor.

Albus smiled knowingly, eyes twinkling. "Yes, one would think that, wouldn't they?" he asked. Glancing at Severus's right arm that was still absently rubbing his left arm, a concerned look passed over Albus's face. "It isn't still bothering you, is it?"

Looking down, Severus realized what he was doing and quickly moved his hand away from his forearm. Looking back up at Albus, he answered, "Not at all. Old habits, you know. It's amazing actually, that it doesn't bother me. After so many years…"

Albus nodded in understanding as Severus trailed off.

Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "Who's not coming back this year?" he asked curiously.

"Poppy has decided to retire after seventy years as our beloved Medi-Witch. As much as we will miss her, I have a feeling we shall be seeing her often, for her niece Elizabeth is taking her place," Albus answered.

Severus nodded as he remembered Elizabeth from a few years earlier. "Anyone else?"

"Binns has finally decided that he no longer wants to teach students. I think he is planning on traveling, well as far as he can in his designated haunting areas," Albus said with a smile.

"Took him almost thirty years," smirked Severus. "So there are only two new staff members then?"

"No, five actually," replied Albus. "The Transfigurations, Ancient Runes and Combat/Offensive Magic Professors are new as well, but you will meet them all shortly."

Before Severus could pry Albus about information on the new staff members, the doors opened once more, allowing Sirius Black and Filius Flitwick to enter, deep in conversation.

"Good morning, Sirius, Filius," welcomed Albus happily.

"Morning Albus, Severus," replied Sirius, pulling up a chair beside Severus.

"How were your summers?" asked Filius after greeting the two seated men.

"Marvelous," replied Albus, sucking on a lemon drop.

"Quite nice," responded Severus. "Very relaxing. And yours?"

"No terrorizing children then Severus?" Sirius piped up with a smile on his face.

"No one other than you, Black," Severus growled with mock disdain, clapping the other man on the back.

"Now, now. No need to fight," Filius interrupted with a wide grin. "Besides, I don't think you've heard my news! I'm a great-grandfather!" the tiny professor squeaked excitedly, beaming.

"Congratulations Filius!" exclaimed the other three men.

The four were then caught up in a discussion about children, as Filius pulled out a number of moving pictures of his new great-grandson. This led to the four talking about the once dwindling but now rising population of wizards.

As they talked comfortably, Severus kept track of those who entered in the hall. He recognized most, except for a young man who was sitting uncomfortably at next to Filius. He smiled and nodded to Blaise Zambini, who had not been there last year, and wondered what position his former student was teaching. 

The staff continued to talk amongst themselves until there were only three open chairs. The doors opened again, and Severus looked up to see a man and woman enter, arm in arm.

His breath caught as he gazed at the familiar looking woman. She was rather short, and dainty looking, but Severus could see that she had a will of steel from the way she regally held herself. Her tresses hung down to her waist in soft, full ringlets. Her dark brown hair was streaked with reds and golds, causing it to shine and almost glimmer in the light from the ceiling. The pale lavender sundress that she was wearing fit her exquisitely, molding to her full form elegantly. 

Her eyes, however, where what Severus could not tear his gaze away from. They were deep, deep brown, like melted chocolate. They were wide and shone with an inner light. Yet, they looked cold and hard at the same time, as if cut of from the world. Severus was spellbound by these eyes, unmoving until he felt Sirius put a hand on his arm.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" he asked, sounding slightly amused.

"Yes," Severus answered softly, still watching the woman as she made her way to one of the empty seats. His eyes barely glanced at the young man accompanying her as they once again made their way back to the mystery woman. "Enchanting," he murmured. "She looks very familiar," he continued softly.

Vaguely, he was aware of Sirius chuckling and then getting up. His eyes focused on him, however, and he saw Sirius move towards the woman. He was able to hear their greetings.

"Hello Sirius. It's been a long time," the woman said as she rose, smiling a beautiful smile.

"Yes, it definitely has been too long, Hermione," Sirius answered as he leaned in to hug her affectionately.

Severus stared in shock at the woman, thoughts racing.

Hermione? No…it's can't be her. Hermione Granger? The Gryffindor know-it-all? Definitely not! he scoffed at the idea. Looking more closely however, he was able to see the resemblance to the girl he had last seen almost four years ago. Merlin! It is her! My god, she definitely has changed. And not at all for the worse, either, he thought to himself, instantly shocked at these thoughts towards an ex-student.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Hermione addressed him after seeing him watching her.

"Hello Professor Snape," she said, her musical voice reaching him from across the table.

Musical voice? Where the hell did that come from? he thought angrily as he answered her somewhat stiffly, "Miss Granger."

Holding his gaze for a second longer, he saw her eyes harder ever so slightly, before she turned back to Sirius, and Severus forced himself to look away.

The doors to the Great Hall opened once more and a young, cheerful looking witch bounced into the room, taking a seat in the last empty chair. Albus cleared his throat, waiting for everyone to quiet down and Sirius made his way back to the chair next to Severus.

"Welcome, my friends, to another year at Hogwarts," the Headmaster began, smiling at his staff. "I am pleased to welcome everyone back after a wonderful summer break, and I would like to introduce everyone, seeing as we have five new members to add to our staff this year.

Starting with the young man on his left, Albus began introducing the staff.

"We welcome back Mister Neville Longbottom, our esteemed Herbology Professor, as well as Miss Lavender Brown, our Divinations Professor. I would like to introduce our new Ancient Runes Professor, Mister Blaise Zambini, and our new Medi-Witch, Miss Elizabeth Pomfrey. Elizabeth is Poppy's lovely niece and I expect we shall be seeing Poppy quite often," he said with a warm smile. "We have a new Combat and Offensive Magic Professor, Mister Miles Raine, and sitting next to Miles is our new Transfigurations Professor and Head of Gryffindor House, Miss Hermione Granger. Welcome back to Mrs. Morgana Hooch, our esteemed and well loved Flying Instrictor, as well as Mrs. Angela Vector, our Arithmancy Professor. Mister Justin Finch-Fletchey will be continuing as our Muggles Studies Professor and as the Head of the Hufflepuff House. I would like to welcome back Miss Maud Valence, wo is returning to us this year to continue as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. I give Maud a large amount of credit as this position has not been filled by the same person two years in a row for many, many years. Mister Thomas Hudson is our new History of Magic Professor, as Professor Binns as finally decided to enter into his well-deserved retirement. Our Head of Ravenclaw House and Charms Professor is Mister Filius Flitwick, and beside him is our Groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Mister Sirius Black. Last but definitely not least, is our Deputy Headmaster, Head of Slytherin House and Potions Master, Mister Severus Snape," Albus finished, eyes twinkling at the incredibly long commentary he had just completed. 

Severus, who had been following Albus's introduction with his eyes, noticed that Hermione's eyebrow slightly rose at his title of Deputy Headmaster. He wondered what that meant, when he realized what Albus had said about her.

Wonderful, he thought. Of course Albus would make her the Head of Gryffindor. She's practically the spitting image of a younger Minerva, and of course she would be her successor, he though, not completely bitter at the idea of having to spend all the planning time required between the four heads of the houses of Hogwarts. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused on what Albus was saying.

* * * *

The first thing Hermione noticed when she walked into the Great Hall was the fact that almost every chair at the large circular table was occupied.

Are we late? she thought, panicked and slightly uncomfortable at the fact that almost all eyes were on the pair.

As she let Miles lead her over to the table, Hermione let her eyes wander around the seats, picking out people who she knew and looked familiar. She was glad to see many of those present and nodded to Neville, Lavender and Filius as her eyes connected with theirs. Halfway to the two empty chairs that they were heading to, Hermione's gaze fell on her ex-Potions Professor. She was surprised to see that he was staring intensely at her. She was even more surprised when she saw an emotion in his usually cold and hard eyes. She smiled to herself when she realized that she saw some confusion, and that Severus Snape didn't recognize her.

Hermione looked away from him as Miles pulled out her chair for her, and smiled at him in thanks. Glancing around the room again, she noticed Sirius making her way towards her. Getting up and smiling warmly, Hermione said, "Hello Sirius. It's been a long time." She smiled to herself again as she waited to Sirius to say her name, looking forward to Snape's reaction.

"Yes, it definitely has been too long, Hermione," Sirius answered as he leaned in to hug her affectionately. 

Returning the hug, Hermione glanced over Sirius' shoulder at Snape, and was satisfied to see the shock that was written there.

Giving him a moment to process the information, Hermione quickly introduced Sirius and Miles.

"Sirius, this Miles Raine, the new Combat teacher. Miles, this is my good friend, Sirius Black. No doubt you have heard of him," she said, chuckling softly at the stunned look on Mile's face.

After the battle between the Dark and the Light, Peter Pettigrew had been apprehended by the Aurors and the truth about what had happened so many years ago had finally come out. To say that people were shocked was an understatement. Sirius had been awarded the Order of Merlin, as an apology for spending twelve years in Azkaban even though he was innocent.

Although, not all people were happy about the arrangement, Hermione thought wryly, once again glancing at her ex-Professor.

Turning to him fully, she finally greeted him across the table. 

"Hello, Professor Snape."

Hermione saw something change in his eyes as he coldly answered her, "Miss Granger."

Fine. Good to see that some people don't change. If he wants to play it that way, be a cold bastard why don't you, Hermione thought somewhat angrily, mentally yelling at Snape in her head. Forcing herself to look away from him, she turned away to talk to Miles.

Before she could say anything, however, a cute, bouncy witch practically ran into the room and to the only available seat on the other side of Miles. 

Before Hermione could introduce herself to the witch, Albus stood up at cleared his throat.

"Welcome, my friends, to another year at Hogwarts," the Headmaster began…

* * * *

A/N: This chapter might be slightly confusing, as it jumps from one perspective to another. There may be characters that are extremely out of character, but this is six years since Hermione's graduation from Hogwarts. She is around the age of twenty-four, and people change, especially if there are wars or extremely emotional situations. But I'm getting ahead of myself and everything will be explained in upcoming chapters. Hope you enjoy the story…it's my first try at a Hermione/Severus, so sorry if it starts off oddly. Please review with any comments/corrections, anything really, for I love hearing people's opinions. Hope you enjoyed!

A/N2: Just to let people know, the title is from Greek mythology and has to do with memory. Since this story has to do with the past, I thought this name was fitting. Thanks to Andrea!


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and co. There are a number of made up characters, and they belong to me.

Mnemosyne

Chapter Two: And It Starts

_There was carnage everywhere she looked. Blood, dirt. Death. Everywhere._

_Very few people were alive and those that were, were still fighting one another. Most of the Death Eaters were gone; either death had claimed them or they had run away._

_Yet, there were still the Dementors and the werewolves and the giants and the vampires…all the non-human allies of the Dark whom had not already fled._

_Using her wand to scan for signs of life, Hermione quickly healed all those she found. It didn't matter which side the person belonged too, finding a pulse meant they were to be healed, and sparks had to be sent up  into the air. Green sparks for the Light, red sparks for the Dark. The Death Eaters and their allies were quickly Petrified and bound tightly, but all those alive were healed._

_Looking over the faces of those that didn't make it through the fight, Hermione's own face was soon soaked with the silent tears that ran unnoticed and unchecked. These were friends, housemates, teachers, parents…almost all dead. Some torn beyond recognition, bloody and scarred. Others were just lying on the ground lifeless. They looked perfectly healthy but just not there, eyes blank and lifeless; the horrible result of the Killing Curse._

_And then, Hermione was in the center of the immense battle-field that used to be the Quidditch Pitch. And there, she found the two bodies she had been searching for, covered in blood and boils and other after-effects of a multitude of curses._

_Sobbing and praying that she would be wrong, she raised her wand and scanned them. One dead. One alive…barely._

Hermione sprang up from her bed with a sob, drenched in sweat and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Shaking and still sobbing, she made her way to the bathroom and collapsed into the cushioned chair by her vanity. Laying her head against the cool marble, she let the wracking sobs come until, a good half an hour later, she slowly quieted.

Looking up after finally calming herself until only the hiccups were left, Hermione grimaced as she saw her reflection. Hair askew from tossing and turning in her sleep, eyes red and puffy from crying, and face blotchy. She grimaced again and flattened her hair, then went to the sink to dowse her face in cold water, washing away the tears and sweat from the nightmare. 

Feeling and looking somewhat better, Hermione made her way back into her bedroom and glanced at the clock, which read two-thirty. Groaning, she started looking for a headache relief potion. Finding none, she groaned again and put on her robe and slippers, grabbed her wand, and made her way out into the hallway.

She walked quickly through the quiet halls of Hogwarts, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. A chill ran through her as memories of the Trio sneaking around these hallways under Harry's Invisibility Cloak ran through her mind. She shivered, pulling her robe closer about her, and practically ran the last few hallways to get to the infirmary.

Finally making her way inside, she went quickly to the storage cabinets. Deactivating the wards and opening the doors, she searched through the vials for a head-ache relief potion and a mild dreamless sleep potion. Finally finding them, she slipped them into her pockets, closed the cabinet and reactivated the wards.

Before leaving the infirmary, she stopped at the new Medi-witch's desk and wrote a brief note explaining why two potions were missing. She signed it quickly and made her way out of the office and back to her rooms.

* * * *

"Ah, good morning, Hermione," Albus said cheerfully as a lethargic Hermione made her way into the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning.

 "Morning Albus. Sorry, but I _really need coffee," Hermione answered, her eyes barely open and a painful grimace on her face._

Albus chuckled as Hermione quickly made her way to the single coffee pot on the table, completely ignoring everyone and everything that did not have to do with ingesting the much needed caffeine.

After taking a number of sips, Hermione sighed and relaxed her stance and finally looked around. Noticing the number of people who were watching her in amusement, she smiled sheepishly at them as a she blushed slightly. She quickly slipped into a seat between Blaise Zambini and Neville Longbottom.

"Morning Neville, Blaise," she said quietly, nodding to both of the young men.

Blaise returned her nod as Neville started talking.

"Hey, Hermione! It's great to see you! I didn't know you would be working here this year. Albus never mentioned that the guy who taught Transfigurations last year wouldn't be coming back. Never really got his name, kept to himself a lot. Minerva was never like that. Of course, I never got a chance to work with her, cause of the war and everything. But you already knew that. Anyway, I haven't seen you in years! It's great to see you! Where did you go off to after the battle? No one heard from you and you completely disappeared! How long has it been now, two year?" asked Neville excitedly, talking extremely fast and completely oblivious to the fact that Hermione had tensed up halfway through his entourage questions.

"Three, actually. That's how long it's been since I've been back in Scotland," she answered quietly, looking into her coffee and praying that Neville wouldn't ask anymore questions or keep talking about the past.

Her prayers, however, went unnoticed by the gods, as Neville kept up an ongoing chatter about events that had taken place in and around Hogwarts and her students during the previous three years. He was completely and utterly oblivious to the fact that as he talked, Hermione was sitting completely still, not paying attention to anything he was saying. He also didn't notice the fact that she had drawn into herself like a hermit-crab, so far removed from the surface and the events going on around her that she was scared out of her mind when someone roughly shook her shoulder, accompanied by a loud "Hermione!" 

She looked up into the worried face of Blaise Zambini, someone who she had never really worked with or gotten to know during her years at Hogwarts. He had been a strong asset to the Cause, however, when he openly admitted his intentions of aiding the Light and denouncing the Dark Lord, something very rare for a Slytherin.

Lost in her thoughts once again, she was jolted out of them by another rough shaking.

This time, she found herself staring into the kind eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "Hermione," he said softly, taking her elbow in his hand and forcing her to stand with him. "Would you please join me for tea in my office?"

While this may have sounded like a request to those around them, Hermione knew better, thanks to the iron-rod grip Albus had on her elbow. He all but dragged her after him as he made his way out of the Great Hall.

When they were out of the Hall, and safely out of earshot of all others, Albus loosened his grip on her arm somewhat and turned to her with a concerned gaze. 

"Hermione, Neville was talking for almost five minutes before Blaise realized that you weren't responding. And it took him almost two minutes to finally get you to snap out of whatever trance you were in. Even then, you still didn't respond to him. What is going on?" he asked her, face and voice laced with distress.

"Nothing, Headmaster…Albus. I'm just tired, that's all," she answered quietly. 

He didn't seem to by it however, by the straightening of his shoulders and the way his face contorted into grim determination.

He didn't say anything else, however, until they had reached his office and were sitting in the armchairs in front of his fireplace.

He silently regarded her with his hawk-like gaze for several moments, making her increasingly uncomfortable. He finally broke the silence when she began fidgeting and playing with the edge of her shirt.

"Hermione, something is not right, and I need to know what it is. Something is bothering you, you have some sort of problem, and if it cannot be fixed then I don't know what will happen. If you were to space out like that during one of your classes and an emergency occurred, there can be serious repercussions that I am unwilling to deal with right now," he said, voice grim with resolve yet still, concern was present.

When she said nothing, he continued, slightly less harsh.

"Hermione, child, you need to tell me what is wrong. Not only could this endanger the students, but it is damaging you as well. That much is already obvious, even to an old dodger like myself."

Hermione gave an unladylike snort at that statement, receiving a small smile from Albus in the process.

When she still said nothing, Albus sighed in frustration.

As he was about to speak again, Hermione suddenly started talking.

"It has been extremely…more…difficult…to come back here than I thought it would be," she started, slowly and haltingly.

She paused. He was silent, giving her time to gather her thoughts, knowing that she needed to speak.

After several minutes of silence had passed, she continued. "After…that day…I couldn't stay here. I couldn't be here, where they…we…had spent all those years together. It…it was like torture…but I know deserved it. I should have stayed and suffered the consequences of my actions. I deserved to be tortured by them…to remember what had happened…what I had done…and hadn't done. I just…couldn't. It was too much after…," she stopped, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she painfully swallowed, trying to keep her emotions from bubbling over.

Albus stared at the girl in front of him in shock. For the most part,  he knew what she was talking about. Yet, there were things…what did she deserve? Why did she think she deserved torture?

"Child, what torture do you think you deserve?" he asked kindly.

She looked up at him sharply, almost angrily. "What do you mean, think I deserve? Of course I deserve it! I don't even know why you gave me the job here, knowing what I did!" she spat angrily, swiping viciously at her cheeks and eyes to try and stop the tears, but to no avail.

Albus was completely bewildered. What was she talking about? What thought was so ingrained her that brilliant mind of hers that was causing her so much pain, forcing out so much animosity towards herself?

Before he could ask any more questions, she rose and turned towards the door. He rose to stop her but her hand halted him.

"Albus, I am fine, really. What happened at breakfast will not happen again. I will see to it," she said, her voice once more hard and cold. She straightened her back and turned her head to face him. "If there is nothing else?"

Not knowing what to say, or if he should say anything at all, Albus simply shook his head and watched, distressed, as the once vibrant witch made her way quickly out of his office.

After the door had closed once more, he sat back into his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. Absent mindedly stroking his beard, Albus tried to figure out what was troubling the girl, and what could possibly have made her act the way she had.

He sighed as he realized that the conversation had seemed too familiar for his taste. He stood up slowly and made his way to the mantle above the fire. Grabbing a hand-full of Floo powder, he threw it into the fireplace, yelling "Severus Snape!"

* * * *

"Mmmmmm." The noise came from the large four poster bed in the middle of a room decorated in rich hues of blue.

Miles Raine rolled over and stretched contentedly before sitting up and looking around with a smile.

And so it begins, he thought with a mental grin.

Getting out of bed and quickly making his way to the bathroom in a leisurely pace, he stripped at took a quick morning shower before getting dressed for the day.

Completing his morning rituals, he left his rooms, located somewhere between the Ravenclaw common room and library, and made his way to the Great Hall.

Not having been a student at Hogwarts, he was awed by the size of the castle, not to mention its many oddities and eccentricities. He was fascinated by everything about the ancient fortress, and found pleasure in getting lost in its many passageways. Finally finding his way to the Great Hall, he realized that even though he had gotten slightly lost on the way to breakfast, there were still many empty seats around the round table.

Nodding a greeting to Albus, who was conversing quietly with that cheerful dark haired wizard Hermione had greeted warmly the night before, Miles found a seat facing the entrance the hall and quickly poured himself a cup of tea and helped himself to some breakfast.

He quietly observed those around him, noticing the lack of elder professors on the staff. Most of his colleagues, he was surprised to see, were around his age, give or take a few years. The man talking to Albus looked to be about fifteen or twenty years older than Miles, along with that other black haired man who was talking to…Flitwick, the small white haired Professor.

Miles silently wondered what had happened to all of the older staff at Hogwarts. His father had gone here, and used to tell him countless stories of all the older professors; Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Vector and many others. He had recognized only one or two of those names from the night before, and wondered what had happened to those that were no longer there.

Probably something to do with the final battle that took place here, he thought. 

He knew, mostly from his father's stories, but also from experience teaching, that many teachers were fiercely protective of their students. The teachers here were probably even more protective, since they live with their students almost all year round. He would bet good money on the fact that a number of the teachers that were missing had died in the battle trying to protect the students here at Hogwarts.

His musings were interrupted when the doors to the Great Hall opened and Hermione walked through them. He hadn't realized that he had been watching the doors, waiting for her to enter. He laughed at himself for not realizing it before.

He smiled when he saw her, his smile widening as he saw her politely snub Albus and ignore everyone in the room, opting to head straight for the coffee pot.

He almost laughed at her bashful expression once she had ingested some caffeine and realized what she had done. He was more disappointed than he thought he would be when she didn't see him and instead sat down between two men whom she seemed to know. 

Not realizing that he was blatantly staring, he watched as the slightly chubbier of the two men started chattering away, not noticing the affect his words were obviously having on Hermione. 

He glanced around the table, looking to see if anyone else saw the obvious change in the woman. He was surprised to see that he was under the observation of one of the older dark haired men…the darker one, with the hooked nose. He was shocked when he saw how intense the look he was receiving from the man was. It practically radiated with dislike, distrust, and something that Miles couldn't put his finger on.

He saw the man's eyes flicker between himself and Hermione. He idly wondered if the unknown emotion he saw in the man's eyes was jealousy, but he wasn't sure. He tried to remember who the man was, but couldn't remember anything other than the fact that Hermione had greeted him as a Professor. 

He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard someone call Hermione's name quite loudly. He realized that it was the quiet man sitting next to her, not the one who had been talking incessantly. Miles was disturbed when he saw Hermione's reaction when he shook her shoulders. His brow furrowed with concern as he realized that she still wasn't really responding and was about to get up to lend his assistance when he saw Albus make his way over to her and almost forcibly escorted her from the Great Hall.

The room was quiet for several seconds after Hermione and Albus left the room. Miles noticed that the older staff members, those who had obviously been Hermione's professors, were shocked by the lack of response in the girl and quietly talking with each other. The younger staff members also looked worried, and he saw that the two men she had been sitting with were talking quickly yet quietly. He wondered what was wrong, and resolved to talk to her about it the next time he saw her. 

Conversation around the room picked up once again and Miles finished eating, engaging the pretty woman next to him, Lavender Brown, in a rather interesting discussion about Divination.

As people were starting to leave, he excused himself from the conversation and made his way outside, preparing for a morning of roaming the castle.

* * * *

Sirius was definitely worried. He had never seen Hermione act like that before. Not that he had seen much of her these past three years, but she had never acted like that before.

Sirius had been shocked when he discovered that she had left Hogwarts…left Scotland altogether, without so much as a goodbye. He was even more disturbed when he had contacted her mother, only to find out that she had fled to America, returning to London for enough time to pack her things and retrieve money from her Gringotts vault.

He had been too shell-shocked after that, both from the battle and the abrupt loss of his companions, to go after her.

After the trio's fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry and Sirius had become closer. As Harry got older, Sirius spent as much time as possible at Hogwarts, and the two would sneak of to the Shrieking Shack for night-long conversations. Soon after Harry and Hermione had started dating halfway through their sixth year, she and Ron had been invited to these late-night chats. Remus had joined them in their seventh year when he returned as their DADA professor.

After their graduation, the five had continued these meetings, seeing each other twice or even three times a week for dinner and to catch up on their separate lives. The five had formed a sort of family, Sirius and Remus playing a type of patriarchal role in the group. Sirius had grown quite close to all three youngsters, and the abrupt leaving of Hermione had surprised him.

It had been quite a shock to suddenly see her standing in the doorway of the Great Hall after not seeing her for three years. The time in America had treated her well, physically, anyway. Sirius was extremely worried about her mental state, given what had happened during breakfast.

He had been discussing with Albus several creatures that needed to be transported to Hogwarts for his classes when they had heard Blaise's voice from halfway across the table. Both had been stunned by the lack of reaction on Hermione's part, and immediately knew something was wrong.

He vaguely heard Albus mutter, "Oh dear, I feared as much," under his breath,  before the elderly wizard was out of his chair and making his way to Hermione's side. Sirius watched with trepidation as Hermione refused to acknowledge Blaise's and the Headmaster's presence until he saw Albus physically pull her out of the chair.

His worry increased as Albus silently led her out of the room and,  assumedly, to his office. He would have to talk to the old man later, to find out what was wrong with Hermione. And then he would talk to her.

* * * *

Severus made his way out of the Great Hall deep in thought. He knew that everyone's thoughts were on the old Head Girl. Everyone was worried about what had happened, or the lack of anything happening on her part, at breakfast. 

The sight of her being so distant and unresponsive brought a shiver down his back. It disturbed him greatly to see her in such a condition, for it was a condition he knew well. If she was traveling down the same path that he had…he didn't even want to think about that.

Severus idly wondered if the result of the war was the cause of Hermione's condition. Not that it would be such a selective case, since hundreds of people had been affected in such a way by the war against Voldemort.

He didn't know why he was even bothering with the Gryffindor anyway. She had been an annoying chit, one of the three compromising the bane of his existence for seven long years. And even though she had saved his life during the final battle, she was still the same annoying know-it-all.

Keep telling yourself that, old man. Maybe you'll actually believe it one day, he thought sardonically to himself.

By this time, Severus had made his way to his quarters in the dungeons. He walked into his personal library and perused his shelves looking for something to read. Picking one of the old, worn out potions tomes, he settled down in a comfortable chair in front of a smoldering fireplace.

He opened the book and started to read the familiar text. Or at least he tried to read. He found he couldn't concentrate, his mind alternated between replaying seeing her the night before, and what had happened at breakfast.

Finally slamming the book shut ten minutes later, Severus stood up in a rustle of robes and replaced the book on the shelf in the library. As he was about to throw himself back into the chair, the fireplace burned green and Albus's head appeared, floating in midair. 


	3. Chapter Three

Mnemosyne

Chapter Three

"I don't understand what you want me to do about it, Albus," exclaimed the somewhat irritated Potions Master.

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He waited for several seconds, pulling together his thoughts, before answering.

"Severus, what I saw today in that young woman is the same hurt, anger and guilt that I saw in you so many years ago." He paused, staring intently at the younger man, despair and helplessness evident in his clear blue eyes. "I don't know how to help her anymore than I knew how to help you."

He held up a hand to keep Severus from interrupting as he took another breath.

"Severus, when you came to me all those years ago, I was as helpless then as I am now. I didn't know what to do for you. I only knew that I had to do something to keep you from harming yourself or from losing you completely. So I offered you a position here, as well as guidance and support for whenever you needed it. You were the one who brought yourself out of your depression, you alone. I must admit that I still have no idea how you did it, only that it was because of you. I feel that it is the same with Hermione. However, she has been allowed to sink into her depression far more than you have. I had not realized until she returned to us the extent of her deterioration. I fear that the time spent away from us might prove to be her undoing, that we might be too late for any help to be much affective. She is far worse than you were when you approached me."

Here, he paused once more, a hand brushing wearily over his eyes before meeting its brother under Albus' chin.

"However, I refuse to give up hope that she is lost to us forever. I know you still do not overly enjoy spending time with others. But you have changed, Severus, in these past years. Many people call themselves your friends, and there are times when you are even civil to them," he said teasingly before continuing in a more serious tone. "If you are willing, and I truly hope you will be, I am asking you to…take Hermione under your wing…you could say. She needs the same support and guidance that you once did, but she seems unwilling to accept it from myself."

"And what makes you think she'll accept it from me?" Severus asked incredulously. "I haven't seen the girl in years, and when I did see her on a regular basis, I made her life a living hell. The only time I have ever given her any reason to trust me was during the final battle, and even then I turned around and made some snide remark. As much as I would like to help, Albus, I genuinely don't see how I can be of much use."

Albus watched Severus for a few minutes. Speaking quietly, he asked his friend, "Do you think then that she is a lost cause? Should we not even try?"

Severus sighed and shook his head. "No, we have to try. She is too valuable to our world to let her just give up and shrivel away." He sighed again. "I still don't know why you are asking me this. Why not Sirius or Filius or that new teacher she was hanging onto last night?"

Although he did not reveal anything, Albus was amused and surprised at the loathing heard in Severus's voice when he mentioned 'that new teacher'. Not having time to think upon it now, he filed that potentially useful piece of information away for later speculation.

"She respects you, Severus. No matter how many times you ridiculed her, or didn't call on her, or took off points, her one goal was to impress you, to make you praise her. You made her work to her full potential and she realizes that, respects you for that. And even though in all the years you've known her, you have never once given her any sort of praise, at least not to her face, I believe she will still try to prove herself to you. You were always the biggest challenge to her and I don't think that has changed. Because of this, I think she will listen to you, allow you to help her in some way. You are also probably the only one who would be able to get her to talk. The rest of us, we are too easy on her, too afraid of hurting her feelings to push her too far. Do not take this in the wrong way Severus, but you were never the type of person to care what others thought about them. You were and are also never afraid to push someone to his or her limits, no matter what happens. I feel that you are the only one that could get her to talk to us, to let us help her heal," Albus finished, sitting back in the armchair, waiting for Severus's answer.

After several minutes of silence, Severus finally answered with a sigh. "I will think about it, and do the best I can. I'm not promising any results, Albus," he said at Albus's sigh of relief. "But I will try," he finally said.

"That's all I ask, Severus. That's all I ask," Albus replied, patting Severus's shoulder as he stood up to leave.

"Although if I do this, you have to let me do this my way, with no complaints or interference from others," Severus warned. "As you yourself said, everyone else would be too soft."

Not expecting this, Albus turned to look at the younger man before nodding in agreement.

"Not everyone will like how I am going to do this Albus, and people will try to stop me. Tell them not to."

As Albus processed what Severus had just said, at what he was implying, he nodded again and simply said, "Don't be _too_ hard on her. And if you need any help at all, you know where to find me."

Severus grunted in response, and Albus once again turned to leave.

*  *  *  *   

After leaving the headmaster's office, Hermione wandered the halls aimlessly, lost in thought. She spent most of her meandering berating herself for letting everyone see that something was wrong with her.

Her musings were interrupted with a quiet, "Hello dear, password?"

Jumping in surprise at the sudden question, Hermione looked up into the kind eyes of the Fat Lady in Pink, the portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

Misreading Hermione's sharp intake of breath, the Fat Lady said to herself, "Oh, that's right. You're the new Head of House...no need for a password, deary. Especially since there are no students," she chuckled to herself before swinging open the portrait with an "Enjoy yourself, dear. And nice to see you back after so long."

Realizing that she would have to go in to the room eventually, Hermione picked up her robes and crawled through the portrait hole, emerging in the large common room.

Looking around hesitantly, Hermione was flooded with images of all her friends and housemates from the past. She could picture the Weasley twins sitting in that corner over there, testing new products on unsuspecting first-years, and surrounded by their group of friends. 

And over there, under the portrait of Godric Gryffindor, the Creevey's and their friends would sit and discuss different tidbits about photography and compare Muggle and Wizard cameras and pictures. There were the study tables where she spent most of her first year, and the time before all exams, books piled around her. Walking over, she gently rubbed her fingers over her name, which one of the Weasley's had chipped into the aged wood, signifying it as 'Hermione's Spot'.

And of course, the chairs by the fireplace, where people would congregate to play or watch a game of Wizard's chess or Exploding Snaps. And the three chairs that she, Harry and Ron occupied most frequently. Those were where they had spent many hours hunched close together; playing, working, relaxing, plotting any mischief, and of course, puzzling over the many adventures they had had. She could still visualize Ron and Harry sitting over a chessboard, pretending to play while the three of them discussed some plot or another concerning the welfare of all Hogwarts attendees.

It was so vivid in her mind that the picture brought tears to her eyes, which she fervently swiped away as she turned her back to the chairs. Now facing the stairs to the dorm rooms, Hermione made her way up to her old quarters. Entering the room that she had shared with Lavender and Parvati for seven years, nostalgia once again hit her full force.

Three huge four-poster beds occupied most of the room, in exactly the same spot they had been when Hermione had left so many years ago. Images of Parvati and Lavender trying to force her to join their girl-parties and the all-night boy chats came to mind. Now, in retrospect, she wished she had joined her two mates more frequently.

Making her way over to the bed that had once been hers, she ran her fingers up the mattress until she reached the head of the bed, where Crookshanks used to sleep. Wiping more tears away, she sat down forlornly on the bed, still looking around the room. Remembering those happy times so long ago, Hermione lay down and cried softly till she fell asleep with tears silently streaming down her face.

*  *  *  *  

Albus sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. Taking in the young woman's crumpled apparel and tear-stained face, he sighed again before gently shaking her shoulders.

Awakening slowly, Hermione sat up in surprise as she realized that it was Albus who was shaking her awake.

"Albus…what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to smooth out her clothes and wiping her face with her sleeve.

He smiled slightly at her before answering. "When you failed to appear at lunch, a number of us grew rather worried, my dear. We had been searching for some time before one of the portraits mentioned you had talked to the Lady at the entrance of the Common Room." Pausing for a moment, and gazing at her intently, he finally asked, quite hesitantly, "What is ailing you child?"

There was silence for several minutes as Hermione sat and stared at her hands. Thinking she would not answer him, Albus sighed and stood up, a sad smile on his face. As he made his way towards the door, her small voice stopped him.

"It's so hard being back here," she said, repeating her words from that morning. After he turned and sat back down on her bed, she continued slowly in a small, uncertain voice.

"After all that had happened, I had to leave. It was too much…being here with all the memories and not with the real people. It was too overwhelming…too suffocating. I was never able to breath, or think, or anything. I had to leave. I thought that it would be all right, coming back here so many years later. Especially since I haven't been back for those long years. I…I thought I had moved on, or at least gained control of myself. Coming back here, and being near everything…I think it's more of the fact that there are so many people missing…and that they should be here with me, instead of me." As she finished, she rose and began to pace in order to calm herself.

"Hermione," Albus injected gently, before she had a chance to continue, "Why have you forced yourself to believe that they should be here instead of you? You of all people know that everything has a reason behind it. Why do this to yourself when you know, deep down, that as upsetting as everything is, it is the way it should be." He paused and frowned as she snorted with disdain.

He started again, his voice troubled, "Hermione, please exp…"

He was cut off as she turned quickly, waiving her hand to stop him from continuing. "You don't understand Albus, and I am not going to explain it, even to you. I'm fine, really…or at least I will be fine."

She raised her face, eyes haunted and pleading him not to continue his interrogation. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore, Albus. If you'll excuse me, I'll return to my rooms now and see you at dinner." With that, she turned on her heels and practically fled from the room.

Albus sighed deeply and sank back down onto the bed, stroking absently at his long white beard. He pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing again and standing up. As he made his way to the door of the room, an almost non-existent noise stopped him. 

He smiled as he turned around and stated, "You can come out now, Severus."

In the far corner of the room, a whispered "_Finite Incantatem_" was heard as Severus Snape blinked back into existence. If he was at all surprised by Albus knowing he was there, his face revealed nothing, schooled into a blank expression.

Breaking the silence, Severus said softly, "She obviously blames herself completely for the deaths of Potter and Weasley, as well as many others. Although how she managed that has escaped me, especially since it is Ms. Granger we are talking about. I don't understand how such a brilliant mind could coerce itself into believing she was responsible for the deaths of her two friends. However, I do know that Ms. Granger does nothing halfway, so if she does blame herself, we are going to have to fight extra hard to convince her otherwise. No doubt she has been spending these last years trying to forget everything she could about Hogwarts and what happened here during the final battle, and being here probably did not help that at all."

"Do you still think you can help her?" Albus asked hopefully.

"Possibly," Severus said thoughtfully. Looking at Albus, he continued. "However, I must warn you again that many people will not like how I will go about this. She needs to face facts, Albus, and it will be a nasty and harsh awakening for her. You need to tell the staff not to interfere."

Albus nodded wearily before tilting his head towards the door. The two men walked out of the dormitory and the common room and back into the quiet halls of Hogwarts.

*  *  *  *

Hermione quickly made her way out of the Gryffindor Tower, fleeing as fast as she could without actually running. She sped down the many staircases until she found herself in the main entrance of the massive building. It wasn't until she was outside and strolling in the warm sun that she began to slow her steps, and to try and steady her breathing.

Why does it have to be so damn hard?! she thought angrily. I shouldn't have come back here. It was too soon. I'll never be able to forget this place, not when they are everywhere I look, in everything I touch! she mentally cried.

Sinking to the ground under a tree, she messaged her aching temples, trying to relax after her trip through the castle. She didn't pay any attention to how long she sat there until a shadow fell over her closed eyes.

She opened her eyes quickly and her hand flew to her wand. Upon realizing that it was only the young bubbly witch from the night before, she lowered her wand arm apologetically. 

"Hi! I am so sorry to scare you, but I was out walking and I noticed someone over here sitting by themselves. It was such a beautiful day and I don't know anyone, so I thought I would come over here and introduce myself," the woman said extremely fast and then blushed a becoming shade of pink. "I must apologize again. When I get excited or nervous, I tend to babble and run-on quite a bit. I must admit that I am a little of both right now." she said, and paused, looking around. "Aunt Poppy has always told me so many stories about this place, but nothing compares to actually being here don't you agree?" the young woman asked, a tad slower than before but with the same amount of energy. Before Hermione had a chance to answer, however, she went on in a rush. "Oh, but I've done it again. I've talked so much and not even introduced myself! I'm Elizabeth Pomfrey, but everyone calls me Lizzy. I'm the new Medi-Witch, which you probably already knew, because of my last name," she said, extending her hand to Hermione. 

Hermione, fairly stunned by the buoyancy and enthusiasm of the younger woman, dazedly put her own hand out and accepted the other woman's handshake. "I'm Hermione Granger," she managed to say, before she was pulled back down to the ground.

Adjusting her skirt so she could sit Indian style, Lizzy gushed, "Oh, I know! I remember from Albus's introductions last night. Oh, how odd it is to call him Albus. Aunt Poppy has been working here for years, so I've always known him as Headmaster Dumbledore."

"I know what you mean. I went to school here and for seven years, he was Headmaster, and now he wants me to call him Albus. It's more than a little surreal," Hermione agreed as Lizzy paused.

Hermione listened as Lizzy began to recount stories of her years as a teenager here, visiting her aunt during the summers while her parents traveled. Hermione found that it was quite soothing to listen to the woman ramble; she had found out that Lizzy was not so young after all, only about four years younger than herself. 

Hermione was content to sit and let the other woman's words wash over her for a good portion of the afternoon, interjecting comments here and there. It reminded her of the conversations Harry and Ron would have about Quidditch that she would dutifully ignore, but still listen to their voices. As she thought of the two, she immediately changed the topic of conversation to something that would let her not think of them.

"So why did you decide to become a Medi-Witch?" she asked.

Lizzy laughed. "Well, when you spent most of your holidays and summers with a Medi-Witch, you tend to pick up things here and there. When I was about 14, I remember being here that summer and Aunt Poppy had many more people than she usually had to look after. She let me help, and I loved it. When the Final Battle was over, I helped her and the others after everyone else had left. We never worked together, because you left almost right after it was over," she said, having sobered halfway through her speech.

Hermione looked down at her hands that were clenched around several pieces of grass. "Yes….well…" she started guiltily, but was interrupted by Lizzy.

"Don't worry about it, there's no reason to feel guilty about leaving. Anyone else would have too, having been through what you had to deal with," she said, uncharacteristically somber. "Aunt Poppy has mentioned, however, that losing you as a Medi-Witch was most definitely a tragedy. From what she has told me, you are quite talented," she finished, smiling warmly.

Hermione answered with a small, strained smile of her own. "Hmm," she said noncommittally. "Even so, I try to stay away from Healing now. I leave that to the Medi-Witches."

"But aren't you still a Medi-Witch Hermione? I mean, you passed your test a long time ago, and you once were a fully licensed Medi-Witch. I didn't know that something like that title could be taken away just because you don't practice anymore," she said in confusion, either not seeing or ignoring the way Hermione stiffened significantly.

"I think it has more to do with the fact that I no longer think of myself as a Medi-Witch, that I no longer _want_ to think of myself as one," Hermione answered softly, silently begging the woman to let the subject drop.

Lizzy gazed silently at Hermione for several long moments before they both jumped at the sound of the dinner bell.

Saved by the bell, Hermione thought ironically, as she recalled an American Television show that was quite popular with the students she had taught in America.

"Hermione," Lizzy said as the two were getting up. "I do so hope we can become friends." At Hermione's nod, and as she was about to walk away, Lizzy placed a hand on Hermione's arm. "And if there is any situation, any whatsoever, that you need someone to talk to, or cry to, or just to yell and scream at, I hope you will feel comfortable enough to know that you can come to me. We may only have known each other for one short afternoon, but I don't really think that matters, does it?" she asked, staring intently at her.

Hermione was shocked and surprisingly warmed by the other woman's statement. She nodded, her eyes expressing her thanks at the offer, before the two began their journey back up to the forest, Lizzy once again the jovial witch from the beginning of the afternoon.


End file.
